Bistro and Bar William Hallet Closing For Good on Sunday

Astoria bistro and bar William Hallet will shutter Sunday after seven years in business.

The owners of William Hallet, located at 36-10 30th Avenue, announced the restaurant’s closure via Facebook on Sept. 6.

While the post did not give an explanation for the restaurant’s closure, the message thanked William Hallet’s customers for their support. The restaurant had built a following over the years and was known for its specialty cocktails and hearty American cuisine.

“Our patrons were our lifeblood, and many have become part of our delightfully weird, sprawling, army of regulars,” the post said. “Without you, we wouldn’t have shared the laughs, personal milestones, conversations both low & high-brow, or general year-round shenanigans.”

The post also thanked the restaurant’s staff for their loyalty over the years.

“We cannot thank them enough for their hard work and dedication, and for having the decency to pretend to do their side-work while checking phones when they thought we weren’t looking,” the post joked.

The post announced that the restaurant will host its own “funeral” at 5 p.m. this Sunday.

Although the restaurant was popular for years, William Hallet did suffer in May when it was temporarily closed by the Health Department. The inspector reported several violations, including evidence of mice.

William Hallet did not respond to a request for comment on this article.

I ate there a few times. Brunch was bad I had some lettuce and an egg as a brunch dish. I left hungry. Came again for soup and bread pudding. Soup was water and pread pudding was store bought sweet bread with honey poured on it. Came for dinner had a burger . Meat on the outside was cooked inside red and I mean bloody red had to send it back to be recooked. The food wasn’t that great. Seems like the only reason people go there are because George has a following from his other place that also shut down. The man has tattoos all over he attracts his hipster clientele. They think it has a cool vibe so who cares what the food tastes like.

This came from someone with close ties to William Hallet:
The place was up for sale for at least a year then all but one of the owners, had change of heart and they decided to stick it out. George asked to be bought out. This was all in the works before the shut down. He was bought out by Gary Anza formerly of Bowery Bay, and now the remaining partners and Gary are closing to rebrand it as a new concept

I liked this place and what I’m about to describe was a random event, but it happened. I was eating dinner with a date when all of a sudden, a few folks at the bar jumped up onto their stools and began shrieking. We looked over, and apparently because they left the front door open, a rat had scurried into the place, was running through the bar/dining room, and eventually made it’s way back into the kitchen. Random event? Yes. Did I yell, “CHECK PLEASE!” Yes.

They are rebranding not closing, everyone relax. Also Health Department shut them down temporarily, this is due to the Verizon work outside on the sidewalk when they were digging a hole beside Hallets basement, this is how the mice got in. It just happens so it occurred same time as the health inspection. Facts are a good thing.

“William Hallet did suffer in May when it was temporarily closed by the Health Department.” Just open up someplace else in Astoria with a different name. Renters come and go every year no one will know.

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